Vehicles, such as motor vehicles, typically contain foot-actuated devices or pedals for controlling various functions of the vehicle. These functions are known to include: acceleration, controlled by an accelerator pedal; braking, controlled by a brake pedal; and shifting, controlled by a clutch pedal. In addition, the vehicle may include a non-functional pedal that serves as a footrest for the driver. These pedals are positioned in the vehicle so that they are accessible by the driver, and may be fixed or adjustable.
The pedal assembly includes a pedal arm pivotally mounted to a support bracket, and the support bracket is fixedly mounted to the vehicle. A pedal pad is mounted to a lower end of the pedal arm for depression by the driver's foot. The upper end of the pedal arm is attached to an actuating mechanism for controlling a vehicle function such as braking, accelerating or clutching. Vehicle packaging considerations may influence the shape of the pedal arm. A cantilever style pedal arm has a first pedal arm with a pedal pad attached to a lower end of the first pedal arm and an upper end of the first pedal arm is attached to a hub or cross-member. It also has a second pedal arm attached to the hub at one end and the actuating mechanism at the other end.
The brake and accelerator systems are subject to various regulatory requirements. For a brake system, the regulatory requirements may stipulate braking distance, or a redundancy in the case of a component failure. With respect to a cantilever style brake pedal system, each pedal arm is fixedly mounted to a cross-member, such as by welding. While the weld connection works well, it could fracture when subject to an excessive force, such as in an emergency situation. As a result, each pedal arm would not rotate as a single unit. Thus, there is a need in the art for a cantilever style pedal assembly having an improved structural configuration.